The Dot Magazine Christmas Edition: When We Was Kids

Just in time for Christmas Day, we asked some of our favorite people — a typically eclectic cross-section of talent — to tell us what Christmas means to them and, more importantly, share some embarrassing childhood photos.

Sorrel Moseley-Williams is a food, drink and travel writer, and sommelier, and the Academy Chair for the World’s 50 Best Bars South America. She also has her own wine brand. It’s called Sorol. She’d like you to get the name right. Van Anh Nguyen is currently managing editor of WOWWEEKEND. She previously published a popular sex column in Men’s Folio magazine that had her exes feverishly scouring the text in case of an exposé. Fortunately, she changed the names to protect the (not so) innocent. After that, she was managing editor for Mixmag Vietnam. She still likes to dance.

Christopher Clarke is head chef at The Albion restaurant, the ode to English food and the rolling hills of home he opened with executive chef Kirk Westaway in the Hôtel des Arts Saigon – MGallery Collection. He thinks Santa deserves a good summer holiday. UuDam Tran Nguyen is a celebrated contemporary artist famous for his conceptual artworks — some of which revolve around the dance of motorbikes in Saigon’s crowded streets — and his signature white-framed Oakley glasses. He’s been wearing them since 2010. When he first wore them, a friend posted his photo to Facebook. Someone commented that he looked like an alien. He’s been wearing them ever since.

Huynh Chi Khang grew up in Germany to parents who worked in F&B. The destiny was written. Today, he runs Roast & Smoke and Chico’s (which serves some of the best pizza) in Saigon’s Thao Dien Ward. Tommy Le is the co-founder of GoodTime, the Hanoi burger chain that’s a force for good. Even the burgers break apart amicably so there’s no arguing. He hosts regular block parties. But at Christmas, he might flip the closed sign and head off into the mountains.

Marco Dognini is bar manager at the historic House On Sathorn in the shadow of W Hotel Bangkok — we were there in the summer for a Vietnam takeover of the bar. He might be Asia’s most traveled bartender. But he still wants unlimited flights for Christmas. Mostly, he’s been slowing down of late. But if forced to drink, please be reminded that he likes a cube of ice in his glass of champagne.

Camellia Dinh from The Brand Promise is an event host who just wrapped the Travelllve HOTLIST 2024. She teaches at RMIT. And she still likes balloons. And, finally, David Kaye is our editor-in-chief. He felt left out so he insisted on joining this piece partly to show he was a beautiful child, even though his mum keeps reminding him that he looked like a girl.

What does Christmas mean to you?

Sorrel Moseley-Williams: As a 47 year old, it means not even lifting one finger! No tree. No gifts. Nada. Does that sound sad and Scroogey? Maybe. But I spend most of the year traveling. My penultimate trip of the year, a month-long escapade, clocked in at over 50,000km. That means I’m constantly a recipient and a giver of fine gifts — treasures from Cusco to Kumamoto. I love to snap up trinkets and other fine products, like Thai smelling salts, or socks adorned with images of food. And I bring them home as gifts for people. December in Buenos Aires is summertime. It’s a time of rest. Of sunbathing. Of swimming. It’s about getting some healthy photosynthesis, so I’m ready to flourish again in the 12 months up ahead. There might be some drinking involved too. But I’ll always do it in light clothes, because the humidity is usually off the charts. And, a little tipsy, I’ll probably get all my invoices submitted for the things I’ve written and done.

Van Anh Nguyen: Nothing. Maybe, for me, it’s just about the celebratory spirit. It’s okay to start drinking from the 1st of December, right? Also, last Christmas I promised my friend that I’d make mulled wine. Then I forgot. 

On Christmas Eve, the day I was supposed to be making it, I panicked and ran to Annam Gourmet to avoid my friend’s anger. But they’d sold out of mulled wine spices already. I noticed they still had a pack of pho spices so I combined that with some of the dehydrated oranges that decorated the Christmas tree. She mentioned that it tasted like pho, at one point, without really realizing – I’d carefully picked all the spring onions out beforehand. So, I guess Christmas is about spontaneity too.

Chris Clarke: Simple things. Spending time with family. Or the kitchen teams that quickly become my family.

Marco Dognini: Right. Family. Joy!

Tommy Le: Same. Christmas means connection to me too. Growing up far from family, it was never about the perfect tree or the fancy gifts. It was about feeling a sense of belonging. I’ve been lucky to re-share this season with friends from different cultures and backgrounds. Each of them bring their traditions to the table. It’s a beautiful reminder that love and kindness transcend borders.

Huynh Chi Khang: I was born in Germany, so we’d have long holidays. There’d be big family gatherings, surrounded by lots of loved ones.

Camellia Dinh: Cliches aside, it’s a time to celebrate love, kindness, and the beauty of togetherness.

David Kaye: A heady mix of suspicion and excitement. For as long as I remember the Santa thing seemed suss. How was he getting down the chimney when we had a gas fire? And considering my dad’s predilection for mince pies, I felt sure he’d probably eaten the ones we left out for Santa.

I’d skip sleep partly to get to the bottom of the mystery, partly to get at the goodies – those presents under the tree we’d been shaking for giveaway noises. Flash forward to six or seven years or so ago, and it meant gathering friends, ransacking a buffet lunch, then opening up The Observatory (my friends, the owners, had easy-access to the keys) – Saigon’s top house and techno club – for an impromptu after-party. My parents would often attend both the lunch and the after-party. As the evening wore on, they would gradually shame each one of us in turn into going home when deemed past our level of inebriation.

These days, it’s dinner at the Park Hyatt then I send myself home.

When did you begin suspecting Santa may not be real?

Sorrel Moseley-Williams: For the sake of this piece I just checked this with my mum. She said: “I suspected you began doubting Santa existed when you were 11-ish.” But, I can’t believe that’s true. I do remember she made an off-hand comment one year that she didn’t like sherry. I used to leave a glass out for Santa. And it always went untouched. That’s when I put two and two together…

Marco Dognini: Pretty late. I like to believe in fairy tales.

Van Anh Nguyen: When I read Harry Potter. I must have been 7 years old. Then I started believing in wizards instead.

Chris Clarke: I was 6 or 7 too. I spent the night with my cousins and siblings. I remember one of my older cousins announcing that he wasn’t real, much to my dismay.

Camellia Dinh: In Asia, we don’t celebrate Christmas the same way. And so I grew up thinking that maybe Santa simply wasn’t available for Asian kids. Then, suddenly, he started to show up at our door to deliver us gifts too. I was maybe 9 or 10 at the time. But I noticed he was too young and too skinny to be true. That’s when I knew something was wrong.

Tommy Le: I think I started suspecting Santa wasn’t real when I noticed the gifts from him were things my parents couldn’t normally afford, but things I wanted. I felt admiration for how they stretched their resources to make made magic out of so little. Then, as I got older, I realized Santa’s spirit lives in anyone who gives from the heart.

UuDam Tran Nguyen: I think, deep down, I always knew…

Huynh Chi Khang: It was always guaranteed. I’d wake up on Christmas. The stocking that I’d left out would be full of gifts and snacks. Brilliant. Then, we came to Vietnam. No more Christmas stocking full of goodies. Naturally and patriotically, I didn’t want to blame my country. All I could assume was there was something wrong with Santa?!

David Kaye: The more pressing question that occurs to me now is why do we raise kids on these fibs – add in the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. Then, when they grow up, we demand that they tell the truth. I think myths and stories are great so it’s the latter I disprove of – please kids, create new myths and magic and monsters. Let your imaginations run wild and don’t let anyone stop you.

What’s been your most unforgettable gift?

Sorrel Moseley-Williams: A tray organizer. You know who you are!

Van Anh Nguyen: It was a gift I gave to myself. I planned to go to Berlin for Christmas, then I postponed the trip. A few days before Christmas, I decided I should just do it and f*ck the cost – just treat myself for Christmas. I rebooked and went. There, catching up with old friends we headed to legendary club Berghain and partied from Christmas Eve right through Christmas day and beyond, missing my return flight. Looking back, it was an expensive gift.

Chris Clarke: When I was very young I asked my parents for an electric guitar. I think I warned my mum 2 days before Christmas that if it was a toy one I would be super upset. Her face dropped. Thankfully, they found me one in time!

Camellia Dinh: People always say it’s very difficult to ‘shop’ for me. But I guess I prefer the feeling of togetherness, spending time with my loved ones, preferably over a hot chocolate. Those moments are precious.

Huynh Chi Khang: Just like I do now, my parents worked in hospitality. Growing up, I didn’t get to spend too much time with them. One year I got the remote-control racing car (you can see it in the picture). It was the perfect way to while away the time till they came home.

Marco Dognini: It was when I went home to surprise my Australian side of the family.

Tommy Le: One Christmas, a close friend gave me a small, simple compass and paid for me to get a tattoo. He said the gift was to remind me that no matter how far I was from home, I’d always find my way back. I’ll save the tattoo story for another time!

UuDam Tran Nguyen: Mine is a toy gun my parent got me in the ‘80s. It shoots firecrackers!

David Kaye: One year I jokingly asked for some chickens. I had a house in Thao Dien and I’d probably read something in The Guardian about urban farming. Chickens, I discovered, make terrible pets. Suddenly, I had three. One was abducted playing in the street. The other two started fighting and we sent one to chicken ‘hospital.’ Over time, me and the last chicken grew to hate each other. I would look at it, thinking, “If only I was brave enough to strangle you.” The chicken would look at me with her beady eyes that said:”Yeah, but you’re not.”

If money were no object, what gift would you ask for this year?

Marco Dognini: An unlimited amount of free flight tickets to everywhere in the world!

Sorrel Moseley-Williams: A house with a swimming pool. And a pool attendant. And lots of bathrooms. And David Beckham. And a new bike. And a time machine to take me into the future where I remove my braces to reveal perfect teeth.

Van Anh Nguyen: A Porsche. Can I drive? No.

Chris Clarke: An all-expenses-paid trip to Japan would be nice. Now I’m in Asia I want to explore as much as possible.

UuDam Tran Nguyen: 100 personal robot assistants from Elon Musk.

Camellia Dinh: Materially, I feel that I have everything I need. Therefore, if money were no object, I would let it handle all the things that can be bought, and then I would have more time to invest in creating amazing life experiences and enriching relationships that money can’t buy.

Huynh Chi Khang: I’ve been on a journey to discover more about Vietnamese cuisine lately. My wish would be to soak up all these traditions and create something meaningful that retains their soul.

David Kaye: When I was just back in the UK, I thought I was watching live football. When there was a phone call or when my dad got up to make a cup of tea my mum would pause it on the TV. I’m like: “You just paused everyone in Brighton!” I don’t think she had, but I’d use my unlimited budget to make that a real thing and do recreational activities or maybe up-skill while everyone is paused so when I unpause them they’ll be like: “When did you learn to do that?”

If you could be (a real) Santa this year, what would your priorities be?

Sorrel Moseley-Williams: I’d give all the children in the world a teddy bear to hug. I still have my Pooh Bear.

Marco Dognini: Agreed. Try to make every kid in the world happy.

Tommy Le: I’d focus on reaching the kids who lack love and guidance from their families — the ones who might not have much but dream big anyway. I’d want to remind them that they’re important, that their circumstances won’t dictate their future.

Chris Clarke: If I were Santa, my priority would definitely be planning my summer holidays for the following year!

Huynh Chi Khang: I guess the obvious answer is to reward good kids. But there’s plenty of hard-working adults out there that probably need some love too. Go give them a hug. Tell them they did well. Maybe share a small gift. We all need some tenderness and now’s as good a time as any.

Camellia Dinh: I would waive the requirement for kids to have been good. I’d just target the ones that need love the most, and get them some love regardless of how they’ve behaved this year.

UuDam Tran Nguyen: I would end all wars — starting with the one in Ukraine.

David Kaye: My priority would be making people believe in Santa again, no matter how many chimneys I have to try to squeeze down. or how many mince pies I have to eat.

Can you give a positive message to all our readers for the new year?

Sorrel Moseley-Williams: New year, new beer / cheer / dear / here / Lear(jet) / meer(cat) / rear / weir*

*Pick as appropriate. Also, believe in the powers of the number 22.

Van Anh Nguyen: Just keep drinking because you can always do dry January. Then when January comes you can reassess. One step at a time, you know?

David Kaye: I read and mostly liked Will Guidara’s ‘Unreasonable Hospitality’ earlier this year, a book focused on his time at Eleven Madison Park, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ No.1 for a while (I met its chef and owner Daniel Humm in Vegas too this year but that’s another story). In the book Will’s dad tells him that: “Adversity is a terrible thing to waste.” So there it is. That’s my message.

Camellia Dinh: You are never too old to believe in the magic of Christmas! And the magic of life comes to those who don’t just dream but also work to make their dreams happen.

Chris Clarke: Breathe and enjoy the moment. That’s especially true for us all in F&B. It’s an exciting time. And I can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store.

Tommy Le: Life is unpredictable. But the people you meet along the way can become your chosen family. Here’s to a year filled with courage, laughter, and love…with them.

Huynh Chi Khang: I’m sure 2024 was tough for many of us. But we made it through! I wish, with positive energy and loving people surrounding us, next year will be gentle on everyone.

Marco Dognini: It doesn’t matter much how you plan your life, live as much as you can, in any way you want to. Life passes too quickly to have it any other way.

UuDam Tran Nguyen: Create something. It will make you happy!